Responsible communication wins again
Kathy Tomlinson becomes part of a slowly growing list of Canadian defamation cases that are winning with the defence of "responsible communication"
Six years after reporting on a B.C. surgeon whose patients had a troubling tendency to experience serious post-op complications, Kathy Tomlinson and CBC successfully invoked the relatively new defence of responsible communication to win a defamation lawsuit. Dr. Fernando Casses, who had his medial license revoked in Arizona before moving to B.C. to work as […]
In pictures: Great journalism fails of 2015
As the year comes to an end, we "draw" a glance back to the big moments in Canadian journalism in 2015
Derek Finkle of the Canadian Writers Group on kill fees and ethics at The Walrus
The future of the Review: Your suggestions wanted
From Ivor Shapiro, chair, Ryerson School of Journalism, to readers of the Ryerson Review of Journalism
Dear readers, As the publisher of the Ryerson Review of Journalism, I am writing to ask you to contribute to the current rethinking of the Review’s operational plan and editorial mission. You may be aware that this spring, I began asking colleagues, students and others to join in a consideration of the Review’s options. While […]
Who’s telling the truth about #WelcomeRefugees?
Across Canadian news outlets, there is a strange discrepancy in reports about whether or not the Liberal government is excluding single male Syrian refugees
I don’t know who’s telling the truth about the Liberal refugee plan. On the one hand, there’s Paul McLeod, BuzzFeed‘s political editor, who published an article on November 25, 2015, titled “Someone Gave The Media A Bunch Of False Info About Canada’s Syrian Refugee Plan.” McLeod takes issue with a CBC report by Rosemary Barton that, days before the Liberals […]
The Washington Post wants to put “wheels on luggage,” not a man on the moon
Martin moves the Post in a new digital direction that focuses on smaller details
“If you talk about what used to be, we’re going to be what used to be.” That’s what Martin Baron, executive editor of the Washington Post, tells his staff. Last week, the Canadian Journalism Foundation held its last talk of the year at Ryerson University, where the National Post’s Anne Marie Owens interviewed Baron about the Washington Post’s digital […]
Putting faith in hate: When is religion the source or subject of hate speech?
Freedom of speech is our right, but what happens when that free speech incites violence on members of a religion?
Richard Moon, a law professor at the University of Windsor, came to Ryerson University on Monday, November 23, to speak to students and community members about the fine line between hate speech and free speech. His conclusion? He doesn’t have one. Moon’s lecture was focused specifically on speech related to the Muslim faith in relation to the […]
The importance of enunciation
An unpublished story in Moose Jaw led to national attention when a reporter quit
Did “d” or didn’t “d”? That’s the question Canadians are asking themselves today about Saskatchewan MP Tom Lukiwski’s victory speech on October 19. In the speech, he refers to the provincial election coming up next April and puts his support behind the Tory candidate, who he says is “too important of an MLA to let go down to […]
Editorial endorsement dispute continues as Financial Post editor criticizes John Honderich
The ongoing feud continued today with an article by Post columnist Terrence Corcoran calling for the Toronto Star to “step off its high horse”
It’s been nearly a month since the federal election, and journalists are still feuding over editorial endorsements. To recap, Postmedia CEO Paul Godfrey forced all of the chain’s papers to endorse the Conservative Party of Canada. Former National Post editorials and comment editor Andrew Coyne wrote a column endorsing another party and resigned from his position as […]
Friday’s attacks were not the deadliest violence in France since the Second World War
Journalists must be careful to avoid phrasing that distorts the truth and ignores history
Paris was hit by a series of simultaneous and organized acts of violence late Friday night, with over 129 casualties as a result of the attacks thus far. The event has received a wide range of press coverage, and many myths have been spread in the scramble to understand what happened, as BuzzFeed helpfully notes. […]
Beirut vs. Paris: Unbalanced coverage
Journalism is about fair and objective reporting, but in practice coverage is often skewed toward one event more than another
The events of the Paris attacks last night are still unfolding–“still” being the operative word. Much journalistic attention has been given to the situation in Paris, and rightly so. At the time of writing, CBC reports stated that at least 150 people had been killed after six separate attacks in public places like a music venue in central Paris, […]
